As reported today in Meatingplace, “U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) sent a letter to Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin requesting that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) formally open a review of the transactions of Brazilian meat-processing conglomerate JBS S.A.”
Angela Huffman, Communications and Research Director for the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), offered the following statement:
“The corrupt actions of JBS demonstrate the epitome of unchecked monopoly power. JBS should be stripped of all its U.S. assets. No one should profit from illegal activity. We thank Senators Rubio and Menendez for their courageous action in taking on the largest meatpacker in the world.”
For the past year OCM has called out JBS for using ill-gotten influence to take over the beef market in the U.S. Below are a few of JBS’ most egregious abuses:
In a decade-long scheme, the meatpacker bribed more than 1,800 Brazilian politicians, which JBS admitted helped them take over the U.S. beef market. Meanwhile, in 2017, JBS was caught exporting rotten meat worldwide and trying to cover up the stench using cancer-causing acid products. In 2018, 12 million pounds of JBS ground beef were recalled and 246 people were sickened in the U.S. due to salmonella poisoning. Evidence shows the salmonella outbreak was caused by JBS’ standard practice of allowing sick dairy cows into the beef supply. In 2018, USDA found JBS had ripped off U.S. cattle producers at three separate slaughter facilities by shorting them on payments for their cattle, and while the JBS abuses were extensive, USDA settled the claims for a mere $50,000 penalty. USDA is now paying back JBS 100 fold with its $5 million award.
In addition, OCM’s latest blog post highlights JBS’ continued plans to consolidate the beef market on the U.S. taxpayer dime.
